Autumn Reading Wrap Up!

😀 GUYS!! I met my 2018 reading goal of 52 books! I was going to raise it again – I raised it twice this year already – but I decided to just enjoy going over. ^_^

Also, Happy Halloween! 🎃

45: Skinny BitchAuthors: Rory Freedman and Kim BarnouinGenre: Non-Fiction/Diet and LifestyleRating: 4 starsReviewed: No
Not a good book for OCD people. I had two nights of obsessing about weird stuff while reading this book. In the spirit of embarrassing myself, one of those things was Mad Cow Disease. I was legit worried for an entire day about having latent Mad Cow Disease. I never claim to be sane. This also isn’t a good book for people opposed to strong language and verbal abuse. I thought it was funny, but it’s not for everyone, and I didn’t think it was funny like 10 years ago when I first heard about this book. In any case, this was the only other vegan book I wanted to read, and the only reason I wanted to read it is because I had already heard of it and had already tried to read it years ago and couldn’t get through it. Like I said, it wasn’t funny then.

46: The Poison DiariesAuthors: Maryrose Wood and The Duchess of NorthumberlandGenre: YA Historical/Magical RealismRating: 4 starsReviewed: Yes
Apparently the Duchess of Northumberland has a poison garden at Alnwick Castle in Scotland. I visited said castle back in the summer of 2005 and took a picture of something from the poison garden. It was locked and gated, so we couldn’t get too close. I wish I had known it was a thing, but the gardens in general there are so vast and gorgeous, I took way more pictures in the other more open areas. In any case, this book was weird. Super slow paced. Super boring. Still found it interesting. I don’t know. I just really wanted to know what was going on. And after figuring it out, I wanted to know how the lead, Jessamine, was going to find out and handle it. There’s a sequel. I’m on the fence about it still. I’m not sure I care how the story wraps up. I know. This isn’t a ringing endorsement of any kind, but I did think this was interesting, and I liked it.

from the poison garden in Alnwick Castle

47: I’m a UnicornAuthor: Mallory Loehr – Illustrated by: Joey ChouGenre: Picture BookRating: 5 starsReviewed: No
This is so cute! I can’t stand it. I read it twice. ^_^ So cute and colorful, and there was a bit of unicorn mythology thrown in that I’ve never heard before. Unicorns are my favorite real life animals. 😛

48: What Do You Do With A Problem?Author: Kobi Yamada – Illustrated by: Mae BesomGenre: Picture BookRating: 4 starsReviewed: No
This was cute. I felt the same way about this that I felt about What Do You Do With An Idea? by the same author that I read back in January, I think. Good, but I felt like a deeper connection between the story and message were missing. Since this is advertised as being good for children and adults alike, I just feel like it could have and should have taken that one extra step.

49: What Do You Do With A Chance?Author: Kobi Yamada – Illustrated by: Mae BesomGenre: Picture BookRating: 5 starsReviewed: No
Awesome. This gave me exactly what I thought the other two books were missing. ^_^ I felt like I’d had a mini therapy session or something. I know that’s a weird thing to say about a picture book, but it was lovely. 🙂

50: Bittersweet Vengeance (Cursed Witch Book One)Author: Tia Silverthorne BachGenre: Novella, Paranormal, Adult/New AdultRating: 4 starsReviewed: Yes
Look. If someone puts “cursed” and “witch” on something, I have to read it. I picked it up on a free promo. I had some issues – read my review – but the narrative really pulled me in. Like, seriously, it was amazing, and it went a long way in keeping me reading this story, because I was just disturbed.

51: Heart-Shaped BoxAuthor: Joe HillGenre: Horror/Ghost Thriller/AdultRating: 4 starsReviewed: No
An over-the-hill rock star buys a ghost over the internet. Sounds great, right? It is. Though it wasn’t nearly as frightening as I wanted it to be. It was totally creepy to be sure, especially at the beginning, and I loved it. But at some point, it kind of stopped being suspenseful, and I felt like I was watching a good 90’s horror flick, right down to the bit of cheesiness on the side. Fun and nostalgic. Joe Hill might be my new favorite writer.

52: Ashes Burn (Seasons 1-7)Author: Tyrean MartinsonGenre: Short Fiction/FantasyRating: 5 starsReviewed: Yes
I’ve never read anything like this before. This was like watching a movie made from a 600 page fantasy novel – quick and to the point with all the slower bits chopped out. Good for people like me who aren’t used to reading 1000 page fantasy tomes. I didn’t think it was possible to tell an entire story this quickly, but it was vivid and easy to follow. It gave me Xena, Warrior Princess vibes, which is one of my favorite shows. 🙂

That’s too bad about the slow pacing in Poison Diaries. It sounds really good, but slow pacing already strikes me from the picture. The unicorn book screams cute! 🙂 And I’m going to have to pick up Tyrean’s book. Quick pacing sound great!